MV A1C William H. Pitsenbarger (T-AK 4638)

MV A1C William H. Pitsenbarger (T-AK-4638) is a civilian-crewed, 621-foot container ship owned by RR & VO L.L.C. and operated by Red River Shipping Corp. of Rockville, Md, was under a five-year charter to MSC. The ship will preposition ammunition and supplies in Diego Garcia. The company acquired the 621-foot geared containership, originally the Therese Delmas, from French owners to fill the new charter.

The ship can carry about 885 container equivalents, 720 under deck and 135 in compartments above deck. Both of the cargo areas are air-conditioned and dehumidified to protect the ammunition it carries. The Pitsenbarger has five cranes on the deck that allowed the ship to on- and off-load ammunition without shoreside cranes. This feature gives Pitsenbarger the capability to off-load in undeveloped ports. The chartered ship, operated for the Navy's Military Sealift Command, was used to preposition Air Force ammunition at sea near potential war or contingency sites, adding greatly to the U.S. military's combat readiness.

The Pitsenbarger operated from the Diego Garcia area in the Indian Ocean. In Diego Garcia, the Pitsenbarger prepositioned ordnance for the Air Force as part of Military Sealift Command's Afloat Prepositioning Force, which is composed of merchant and military vessels crewed by contract civilian seafarers and provides the U.S. armed services with rapid deployment of vehicles, ammunition, weapons and other supplies to areas of conflict around the world.
A1C Pitsenbarger, an Air Force Medal of Honor recipient, was honored at a Navy ship-naming ceremony 28 November 2001. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for treating and protecting scores of wounded infantrymen while under intense enemy fire at an enemy stronghold near the Vietnamese capital of Saigon on 11 April 1966, and was mortally wounded himself. The Air Force Sergeant's Association gives the Pitsenbarger Award annually to an Air Force enlisted member for heroic acts on-or-off duty that save a life or prevent a serious injury.

According to the Naval Vessel Register, the Pitsenbarger has been disposed of by return to owner on August 29, 2008. This status has not changed since 26 March 2010.

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